Wednesday, May 28 2014

This morning was my first lesson in milking. Five cows and four goats later, I was slightly more competent although I still need plenty of practice to nail the system. Anyway, here is the rundown of the milking process for a Jersey cow: You first wash their teats with iodine water, then you dry them. Next, you squirt a stream of milk into a pail because the first milk tends to have the most germs/impurities; the process is called stripping. The final step before you officially begin milking is wiping their teats down one more time with a wipe. Now you can really begin! The machine used to milk uses suction to pull the milk from the udder and into a large metal canister. After there’s no more milk, you wipe down the udder with special balm and spray the teats with iodine. Quite the process, especially with nine animals every morning and evening.

Today we also finished mulching the garden at Woodcrest East, which was the second attempt to do so. Yesterday the wind blew the straw and paper all over the place so we spent the afternoon fixing what nature had graciously undone. I learned my lesson and will now bring my water bottle everywhere I go; the heat is already intense and will only increase. Anne had to leave this afternoon which was sad for all of us. Her sunny personality and knowledge of animals was a winning combination. The dinner table was full since many family members stopped by. Our meal was topped off with homemade apple crisp and ice cream from Mapleview Dairy down the road. While we were sitting on the porch afterward, we found the third baby Screech owl of the trio that had gotten separated from their parents. The other two were taken to a rescue center yesterday and this one was rushed over tonight. Here’s a picture of the healthiest one (the others will be taken to the vet tomorrow).